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Oct. 9 Bruce Bochy postgame interview

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Q. How important was Vogelsong's performance for you tonight?

BRUCE BOCHY: It saved us. Vogey was trying to settle in. Once he did, he pitched great. What a tremendous effort he gave us, and the pitch count got up there a little bit but we held them at base and he gave us a chance.

We couldn't do anything against Homer Bailey, and you hope your pitching staff comes through, and what a job they did, two solid innings, and Casilla, and Lopez, and Romo, and when you're in a game like this that's what you hope for.

Q. What did you tell your guys after the ballgame and give us an update on Hunter?

BRUCE BOCHY: The guys were excited. We're facing our last game possibly and they persevered. Great job with Hunter and he started cramping. He started cramping last game. He wasn't going to come out, supposed to take him out, but he didn't want to come out and it subsides once he give us it time, and we would have been caught in a bit of a situation. Sanchez would have gone behind the plate and Buster behind the plate and Sanchez out to the outfield and he's my last player. So I think he will be fine. Trainers will check on him tomorrow.

Q. What was the rationale behind having Brandon Belt swing away, no runs on -- or the tenth inning, just to get your take on that?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, a couple of things there. Belt is in the 6th hole and he's one of our guys that we look to drive in runs and he's my only left handed bat, and I haven't asked him to bunt all year.

It's tough to put him in that position and they would have had a couple of choices back on the other side, on what they would have done. Two hitters behind him have been role type players and here I have my every day guy up there, left handed bat, so I didn't want to take the bat out of his hand and ask him to do something I haven't asked him to do all year.

I didn't have a lot of speed on the bases, either, so it would have taken a good bunt. At that time I'm looking for a base hit and I've always said this: When you have one of your better hitters up there you don't want to take the bat out of his hand or somebody who hasn't been playing every day.

Q. Bruce, what kind of encouragement do you take out of getting it to Game 4 with Cincinnati's pitching, when it looks like it will be unsettled unless Johnny Cueto makes a come back here? BRUCE BOCHY: It's obvious, this game -- it was do or die for us. We were in a position to have to win. I don't know what they're going to do on the other side, but this was a game we had to throw everything at them. Romo went two innings, after Belt went two innings. So it's good to get this one and move on. You never know what can happen, but I do know that we had to win today. We had no choice. We couldn't do much early in that game.

These guys fought hard. It's a game that you look back and you're thankful your pitching came through and kept looking at Bailey to give us a chance and we got a break there at the end.

Q. Given that you guys had a couple of guys to go at the end, does that play into tomorrow?

BRUCE BOCHY: Really both of them, Affeldt and Romo, even though they went two innings they were fairly efficient, so we're in the same mode tomorrow. It might limit them a little bit but I think they're going to be good to go, we just had a day off yesterday and every day we check on them and they'll let us know, but my guess is they're going to say they're fine. If we have to push them a little bit, we will.

Q. Even though Ryan's pinch count was what it was, was it difficult for you to take him out of the game?

BRUCE BOCHY: It was. I figured we had one more inning with him and we weren't doing anything offensively so we were trying to get a hit at that point and get things going and it's never easy to take out a pitcher who was getting locked in, but like I said, he was approaching 100 pitches in 5 innings. That's a lot of work and he did his job and part of it is the faith I have in the bullpen and they came through for us.

Q. Every bullpen move worked tonight can you explain why you used the guys the way you used them and you had Tim Lincecum warming up.

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, well, if Arias would have walked I had to hit for him, so Timmy would have come in. When you're in the situation you probably go with your guys a little bit earlier and that's what we did with Affeldt, I knew I had two innings out of him. I knew Romo could give us 2, that's why he went the 9th. Normally in a tie game you try to save your closer, but I knew with him going two innings I was going to start the 9th with him and have him pitch the 9th and 10th, and it worked out and I had a safety valve in Timmy who was our long guy and if that game is tied then he comes in the game.